Controversial classic game 'Night Trap' to be re-released

Part of the original box art for 'Night Trap' on SEGA CD.DIGITAL PICTURES

Some video gams become infamous not because of any one thing in the game, but rather their place in history. SEGA's 1992 title Night Trap is such a game. Due to its contents, the game caused a national debate on violence in video games that resulted in senate hearings and the ESRB video game ratings system. In fact, former Senator Joseph Lieberman co-chaired hearings on the game, characterizing it as ultraviolent, sick and disgusting, and incorrectly claiming the object of the game was to trap and kill women (the object of the game is to save them).

Twenty five years later, it's being re-released for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.

This new release of Night Trap has been completely rebuilt from scratch and developer/publisher Screaming Villains says it's a completely redeveloped and remastered version of the game with video footage in near DVD quality. Expanding beyond the core gameplay experience, the 25th anniversary edition of Night Trap also includes a theater option to watch all of the scenes in the game, deleted scenes, a completely new gameplay mode called "survivor" with randomized gameplay and online functionality (leaderboards), production stills and a concept art gallery, a director interview with Jim Riley about the creative process for the title, and an additional/previously unreleased game called Scene of The Crime, which was the original prototype for Night Trap.

As for Night Trap itself, it's an interactive horror movie spoof that uses full-motion video to tell a story about a group of girls having a slumber party and becoming the targets of vampire villains. Players set traps in an effort to capture the vampires and save the girls from having their blood sucked. Among other obstacles the player must know when to activate traps, have the correct color codes for the traps to work properly and accumulate knowledge of the rapidly unfolding story.

Night Trap will be available Aug. 11 in a special limited-edition versions for the PlayStation 4 and PC, then will release digitally on Aug. 15 for both platforms. A digital version for Xbox One is scheduled to release in the autumn.